Installing and Updating

Installing and Updating

Flashback installs with one setup file and keeps itself current from inside the app. This page explains how installing, updating, repairing and uninstalling work, and where Flashback keeps your files. For a first-time walkthrough, start with Getting Started.

One-step setup

The installer is a single file, Flashback-Setup-<version>.exe, from https://flashbk.gg or this repository's Releases page. For 0.8.0 it's about 105 MB, down from 137 MB for 0.7.41; the exact size and checksum of the current version are on flashbk.gg/faq.

• Per-user install. Flashback installs for your Windows user into %LocalAppData%\Flashback.Desktop. No administrator access, no extraction.
• Self-contained. Flashback is built on .NET 10 and the runtime ships inside the app. The Microsoft Visual C++ runtime files the recorder engine needs ship in the app folder too. Earlier versions installed the Visual C++ Redistributable first, behind its own dialog, a download and an administrator prompt; from 0.8.0 setup has no prerequisite step, no extra download and nothing else to keep up to date separately.
• A real install screen. On a PC without Flashback, setup goes straight to the Flashback install screen, a still image with the name and version whose bottom bar fills with real progress, then opens Flashback and closes. The window opens right away and shows "Starting the replay buffer" while recording gets going, instead of waiting for the recorder first.
• Safe over the top. Running the installer over an existing copy upgrades or repairs it in place. Clips, settings, hotkeys, your startup choice and Library metadata stay where they are. Setup asks first, though; see Running setup over an existing install.

Current releases in this repository (0.6.74 and later) are immutable tags with exactly two files: the installer and SHA256SUMS.txt. GitHub also lists Source code archives on every release; those contain only this repository's README, not Flashback. To check a download, see Verifying Downloads.

Running setup over an existing install

When Flashback is already installed, setup first shows a plain Windows dialog that says Flashback is already installed:

Installed version	Setup asks	Choose
Older than the installer	Whether to update to the new version	Update
The same version	Whether to repair it by reinstalling	Repair
Newer than the installer	Whether to downgrade	Only if you mean to go back (see Going back to an older version)

After you confirm, setup closes a Flashback that's still running, which drops the replay it was holding. Quit Flashback from the tray first so the buffer can finish its current file. The normal in-app update doesn't run setup and doesn't show this dialog.

Where your files live

Your clips and settings are kept outside the app folder, so updating, repairing or uninstalling Flashback never touches them.

What	Where
The app itself	%LocalAppData%\Flashback.Desktop
Clips and screenshots	%USERPROFILE%\Videos\Flashback, one folder per game (you can choose another folder in Settings)
Settings, logs and imported clip sound	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Flashback
Rolling replay buffer	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Flashback\Buffer
Input timelines, tags and Cloud upload records	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Flashback\ClipMetadata
Cloud session, paused upload and upload queue	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Flashback\Cloud
Logs	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Flashback\Logs (at most five files of 2 MB)
Pre-0.8 settings copy	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Flashback\settings.schema21.json

To open any of these, paste the path into the File Explorer address bar.

How automatic updates work

Flashback checks for updates in a way that stays out of your game:

1. It checks once when you open the window, or when you press Check for updates in Settings > App updates. It never checks while it is running only in the tray.
2. It tells you quietly. If a release is available, a notice appears beside Check for updates and in the window's sidebar. Nothing downloads until you click.
3. You click to download. The button reads Download <version>. Recording stays active while it downloads, and an interrupted download picks up where it stopped, even after Flashback restarts.
4. You click to install. When the download is verified, the button changes to Restart and update. Flashback re-checks the release and the package one last time, then hands over to the updater.
5. Flashback comes back on its own. After the update it restarts minimized, so the window may not open. A Flashback updated to <version> notice confirms it worked.

Releases only roll forward. If a release has a problem, it is fixed by a newer release, never by pushing an older one back out.

Messages you might see

Message or button	What it means	What to do
Not enough free space on <drive>	The update needs room to download and unpack, and the drive is too full. It isn't retried automatically	Free the amount shown, then press Check for updates again
A message asking you to check the PC's date and time	A signature time check failed because the clock is far off	Turn on Set time automatically in Windows Settings > Time & language, then try again
Download installer	Verification failed, or downloading keeps failing	Use the button, or go to https://flashbk.gg/update-repair, and run the installer once
A quiet "will try again later" note	You were offline when the window opened. This isn't an error and doesn't count toward offering the installer	Nothing; it checks again next time, or press Check for updates
A newer version is offered mid-download	A newer release was published while you were downloading or waiting to restart	Download the newer one; the older download is discarded safely
The download starts over	A resumed download was damaged, for example by a power cut, and failed its signed hash check	Nothing; Flashback starts it again once from scratch, and the result must still match the signed size and hash
Download repair installer / Restart and repair	The normal handoff couldn't finish last time, so Flashback offers the signed installer instead	Click it. Your clips and settings stay in place

How updates are verified

An update installs only after it passes two independent checks:

• A signed release manifest. An offline key signs a small file that names the exact version, package and installer, with their sizes and SHA-256 hashes.
• A verified publisher signature. The program files are signed through Microsoft Artifact Signing, and a separately signed catalog binds the whole update package (its name, size and SHA-256), so a genuine signed Flashback.exe next to a changed file still fails.

Neither signature alone can ship code to your PC. Flashback also remembers the newest release it has accepted and refuses an older one, so a stale or tampered website, CDN or mirror can't roll you back to an old signed version. This protects downloads on their way to you; it can't protect a PC that already has malware running on it.

The full design, including timestamps, revocation and why updates are always full packages, is on Update Security Chain.

Repairing an install

Use the current installer when an update keeps downloading the same release, won't verify, or Flashback won't start.

1. Quit Flashback cleanly. Right-click the tray icon and choose Quit. This lets the replay buffer finish its current file. Setup closes a Flashback that's still running without saving its buffer.
2. Download the current installer from https://flashbk.gg/update-repair.
3. Run it once. Setup says Flashback is already installed. Choose Update, or Repair if you already have this version. The install screen replaces the app files and reopens Flashback. No uninstall is needed.

When you need the installer instead of Check for updates

Your version	Why	What to do
0.7.40 or earlier	Releases since 0.7.41 are signed through Microsoft's code signing service, and these versions only recognize Flashback's previous certificate, so they can't install current releases by themselves. On 0.7.39 and 0.7.40, Check for updates stops with "could not verify the official update information" and offers Download installer; nothing was changed. Versions before 0.7.39 also check Flashback's old update address and may not offer current releases at all.	Run the current installer once from https://flashbk.gg/update-repair. After that, updates install from inside the app again
0.6.71 or 0.6.72	These two versions also have a bug that can reject a valid download after it finishes	Don't keep pressing Check for updates. Run the current installer once

If Flashback could not start

If Flashback fails to start, Windows shows a Flashback could not start message. Choose Yes to open the repair installer page, or No to open the bug report form with your version already filled in.

Two copies in Installed apps

Very old installs (from before 0.6.58) lived in a different folder. On those PCs a manual install adds a second copy instead of replacing the first. Both share your clips and settings and only one runs at a time, but the old one stops updating. To tidy up:

1. Quit Flashback from the tray.
2. In Settings > Apps > Installed apps, uninstall the Flashback entry with the lower version. Your clips and settings are outside both app folders and stay put.
3. Run the current installer once more to restore the Start menu shortcut, then open Flashback so it registers Launch after I sign in to Windows for the remaining copy.

Going back to an older version

Flashback 0.8 uses a newer settings format, and 0.7.41 or older can't read it. The first time 0.8 opens, it saves a copy of your earlier settings as settings.schema21.json so you can go back.

1. Discard any paused upload first. Open the Cloud tab and discard a paused upload if there is one. An older version would finish it as "Anyone with the link".
2. Quit Flashback from the tray.
3. In %LOCALAPPDATA%\Flashback, rename settings.json to something else, then rename settings.schema21.json to settings.json.
4. Install the older version. Setup asks whether to downgrade; confirm it.

Settings you changed since upgrading are lost; your clips aren't. An older version also drops a clip's tags and its Cloud upload record the next time it renames that clip or checks its capture health.

Uninstalling

1. Quit Flashback from the tray.
2. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Flashback, and choose Uninstall.

Uninstalling removes the app. Your clips in Videos\Flashback and your settings in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Flashback stay, so reinstalling later picks up where you left off. To remove everything, delete those two folders yourself after uninstalling.

If you have a Flashback Cloud plan, uninstalling doesn't cancel it or delete your Cloud clips. Cancel from the Cloud tab with Manage billing before you uninstall, or at app.link.com. See Cloud Plans and Billing.

Related pages

Getting Started · Update Security Chain · Verifying Downloads · Troubleshooting Updates and Install